Waste Management unveiled the latest technology today at its Outer Loop Recycling and Disposal Facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is turning waste from the landfill into usable, renewable natural gas.

This facility captures methane produced by the landfill and converts it to pipeline quality natural gas. It processes up to 5,000 standard cubic feet per minute of incoming landfill gas. This equates to about 2,500 mmbtu per day of RNG, or 18,000 diesel gallon equivalents (DGE) per day, enough to fuel about 800 of the company’s compressed natural gas (CNG) collection trucks. Waste Management uses this RNG to fuel a portion of its collection fleet, lowering fuel costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions more than 80% compared to those powered by diesel.

“Waste Management’s innovative renewable natural gas facilities close the loop by converting discarded waste into beneficial gas that can go into the pipeline and fuel our very own CNG collection vehicles,” said Jim Trevathan, Waste Management Executive Vice President & COO.

According to company officials, Outer Loop RNG facility serves as a model for a planned rollout of additional facilities in the coming years. Waste Management also operates renewable natural gas facilities in Illinois (Milam Landfill) and Ohio (American Landfill).

RNG, or biomethane, is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG is essentially biogas, the gaseous product of the decomposition of organic matter, that has been processed to purity standards. Like conventional natural gas, RNG can be used as a transportation fuel in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Waste Management’s 110 compressed natural gas stations deliver 60 million diesel equivalent gallons of natural gas each year. The company’s fleet of 6,700 natural gas trucks represents 30 percent of the company’s overall collection fleet. The company continues its commitment to converting its fleet from diesel to natural gas with 80 percent of new truck purchases powered by natural gas.